Grumble Jones January Scenario - GJ103 What Lurks in the Kunai?

Happy 2022 everyone! We celebrate the new year with the first Grumble Jones scenario of 2022. I will try to keep the scenarios to the small side this year and with a diverse grouping of theaters. Last year did not see any PTO if I remember correctly. So this year, there will be PTO and yes...some DTO. I've wanted to do a desert scenario again for a while. So we'll see if I can work in some Ethiopia or Libyan actions. Yes, there will be at least two DASL scenarios in the new year. I enjoy making those and so am excited to do more. With 8000 scenarios out there, it's certainly a challenge to do something unique each time...but I will make that effort. I might even have a tank vs riverboat scenario idea in the works from actions involving the German 29th Motorized that I recently read about. And of course, Halloween...what to do for Halloween....always fun to work on those. And I am also thinking about another foray into the map making business (PDF's of course) for a revision of my The Eagle Has Landed Scenario. More to follow on that one as I dig more into the project. All in all, I'm excited for the new year's scenarios. I hope you will be as well.

Yes...Osprey helped me with my homework again. I've always been fascinated by Merrill's Marauders and this excellent book gives a great look at the campaign for Myitkyina. Personally, I've always thought this would make for a great CG (George Kelln) just saying!!!

The color plates are almost always the focus of my inspiration. Usually, these campaign series books come with 3 great action color plates. So on average, you can get three good scenarios just from those. And of course still more can be gleaned from the narrative.

I'll say it again, these books are an excellent cost value with great, relevant content and a size that doesn't take up too much room on the shelf. You get a lot of bang for your buck. And their latest volume is on the Siege of Budapest. An absolute must buy in my opinion.

The color plate on pages 52-53 would provide the inspiration for the January scenario. This action would involve Chinese Stuart Tanks working in conjunction with Merrill's Marauders as they move towards Wesu Ga.

The Japanese would make excellent use of the tall Kunai to conceal ambushes along the many tracks in the area. The lightly armored Stuarts would be vulnerable to the hidden Japanese Ant-Tank guns. The muddy grass would also force the tanks to stay on the roads/paths making them even more vulnerable to ambush. But Merrill's Marauders would generally be more than capable of clearing the Japanese out of these ambush positions.  This scenario depicts just that sort of action.

As always these monthly "Basement Quality" Scenarios are offered for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of this blog.

Remember to open pictures in a new window in order to maximize the size. 

And as always, these scenarios can be downloaded from The ASL Scenario Archive 

(just search on Grumble Jones).